Solar4Scholars: Solar Egg Frying

Ever heard the phrase, "It's so hot out, you could fry an egg on the sidewalk?" The truth is that with the proper equipment, you can cook an egg in just about any sunlight.

What you need:

Frying pan

Eggs

Glass or Plexiglas

Sidewalk (optional)

Steps:

Crack the egg, drop it in the pan.

Put the glass or Plexiglas lid on.

Wait for it to cook.

Eat.

Alternately you can:

Experiment with three different eggs - fry one in the pan, another on the sidewalk and another in a pan with no lid. What is the difference in cooking times?

OR

Try your experiment a number of times in different air temperatures and different degrees of sunlight. Record and compare your results. How much does the degree of sunlight affect the cooking time? How much does air temperature affect cooking time? What principles of solar cooking and solar energy can you determine from this?